Ethnocentrism in Cultural Relativism and Diversity

This paper will address several components of culture, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism. The first section will define the terms of culture, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism. The second section will address personal cultural group that I belong to. The third section will address my perspectives with ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. The final section will conclude in how all three terms are combined into my personal life.

Definitions

To fully understand the concepts of culture, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism, one must look at the definitions of these terms. The definition of culture has been widely debated throughout the years. The best definition that I found, that shows how the brain my code and categorize information for humans, was written in the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology that states:

The system of information that codes the manner in which the people in an organized group, society, nation interact with their social and physical environment. In this sense the term is really used so that the frame of reference is the sets of rules, regulations, mores and methods of interaction within the group. (Culture, 2001, p. 170)

The term ethnocentrism is defined by judging another culture by the standard and believes of one’s own culture (Kahn, 2015). Neuliep, Hintz, & McCroskey (2005) go further to define ethnocentrism to in stating that “the attitudes and behaviors of ethnocentric persons are biased in favor of the ingroup, often at the expense of the outgroup” and “see the ingroup as superior to outgroups” (p. 42). The definition of the term cultural relativism is one great debate in many professions around the world, currently and historically. The best definition is examining different cultures through their eyes and not looking at another culture through the lens of our own culture with any biases (Kahn, 2015 & Ulin, 2007). Ulin (2007) expands the term a little more on stating that “most American cultural anthropologists have utilized cultural relativism as a pedagogical and sometimes political medium to challenge ethnocentric western views and cultural practices and to promote an appreciation of cultural diversity” (p. 803).

Personal Cultural Groups

There are two main cultural groups that I belong to and two cultural sub-groups that I belong to. I, genetically, am from the Scottish and Native-American cultures. I am Caucasian but find that probably will fall under the umbrella main group of Scottish. I am Scottish from my father’s side of genetics and Native-American from my mother’s side of genetics. The cultural norms of the Scottish culture vary. Some of the cultural norms include love hearing and playing bagpipes; wearing the clan’s tartan that you belong to made into a kilt; eating haggis (a sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs encased by the stomach); and participating in traditional dancing (Scotland Channel, 2018). I do love hearing the playing of bagpipes, although I cannot play them. I own a kilt made from the Campbell clan’s tartan that the Darling last name is traced back to. I have watched many traditional dancing shows at arenas of groups doing the traditional sword dances but have never participated in them. I have never eaten, nor am I interested in eating, haggis. I have never been to Scotland but would love to visit there someday to investigate and learn more about the culture.

The Native American culture that I am part of is considered the Mohawk Tribe. According to Alchin (n.d.), the Mohawk tribe is derived from the Iroquois tribe. She states: The Mohawk tribe were fierce, warlike easternmost members of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. They lived along the Mohawk River of the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York to Southern Quebec and Eastern Ontario and were and considered by the Iroquois confederacy as the 'keepers of the eastern door'. The Mohawk were one of the most feared of all the Native Indian tribes and terrified their enemies due to the violent and brutal way in which they waged war. (Alchin, n.d.)

This Native American tribe lived off the land eating what could be caught and/or hunted. No part of an animal was wasted. The skin of a bear was made into blankets or clothing to keep warm in the winter months for an example. The tribe lived in “longhouses” during the winter months, with each longhouse having several generations living the same home. The men would live in more temporary structures called “wigwams” during the summer months while away hunting. Food that was eaten that was specifically eaten by the Mohawk tribe known as the “three sisters” that consisted mainly of corn, beans and squash. “Elm bark” was widely used for the making of canoes and, even, some clothing. Dances were mostly ritually performed to help with certain issues that were happening. One ritual that included dancing was the “rain dance” in which would be performed when there was a drought or lack of water and the ritual would be performed to the “Rain God” so that rain would be produced. (Alchin, n.d.) I did try to learn more about this part of my personal culture. I tried to become part of the local tribe that has a nearby settlement but was instructed that I did not belong because I was considered too much not of the Native American culture but more of the Caucasian culture. I did get to watch some of the traditional rituals and how moccasins were made at shows that this local tribe puts on for the public. Although, I did not seem to fit into this culture according to the Chief, I do seem to be gravitated to understanding and wanting more to live in this culture. I do not believe their religious beliefs but do consider myself a non-denominational Christian. I would not be allowed to be a member of the tribe with those beliefs due to that the tribe is expected to live in tradition that has been generationally lived by.

Perspectives

I had to think long and hard about whether I could identify any perspectives that I had that were rooted in ethnocentric beliefs. I, at first, was going to state that I did not believe that I had any perspectives rooted in ethnocentric beliefs that the American culture was better than another culture. I found that there are ethnocentric beliefs that I have when watching the news and seeing the fighting and war going on in Libya and other Eastern nations. One perspective that I have that can be considered ethnocentric is the belief that there is not one gender that should be considered higher than the other like in Islamic beliefs that the community helps raise a child to fit into society (PBS, 2003). I found that even the American cultural norm of being free to practice any religion is not true in many of these countries and that was is traditional Christianity widely differs from the beliefs of Muslims and the Islamic. Another perspective that I found to ethnocentric is the belief that American cultural norm of focusing on the individual is better that way to live than community-based cultures. We, in the United States, believe that our openness to freedoms is a better way to live that includes the individual rights that have been awarded to us stated in our Constitution of the United States (National Constitution Center, 2018). I, after, many years of formal education and learning about psychology and how being worried about society and our communities needs to be included in our social norms more often.

My perspective on cultural relativism is that everyone should investigate more into different cultures, without any biases that our own cultures may present, to include some social norms of different cultures into our own lives. I do not think that one culture is superior than another in all aspects. I think that we can take some portion of every culture to combine a culture that works for all individuals and societies. I do not know if that idea is possible but believe that one culture does not provide enough answers to how humans can interact and live without tension over a topic.

Conclusion

“Cultural diversity refers to the aspect of our individualism that is influenced by social interactions and culture,” according to Kahn (2015, Section 1:3). I think the best way to observe, communicate and live in any culture is to know what culture, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism are defined as and how can we accept cultural diversity at its’ fullest extent in our lives and in our own cultural beliefs. We can learn from the world around us that every individual is different but, perhaps, different does not mean wrong but focuses on generational living. We can learn from our cultural ancestors and we can learn from the ancestors of other cultures.